XXIV Southeast Asian Games
Host cityNakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
MottoSpirit, Friendship and Celebrations
Nations11[1]
Athletes5282
Events475 in 43 sports
Opening6 December 2007
Closing15 December 2007
Opened byVajiralongkorn
Crown Prince of Thailand
Closed bySurayud Chulanont
Prime Minister of Thailand
Athlete's OathSuebsak Pansueb
Judge's OathPaibul Srichaisawat
Torch lighterUdomporn Polsak
Ceremony venue80th Birthday Stadium
Website2007 Southeast Asian Games

The 2007 Southeast Asian Games (Thai: กีฬาแห่งเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ 2007, romanized: Kila haeng echiye tawan oak chiyeng tai 2007), officially known as the 24th Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Thailand. This was the sixth time Thailand hosted the Southeast Asian Games and its first time since 1995. Previously, Thailand also hosted the 1959 inaugural games, 1967 games, 1975 games and the 1985 games.

The Thai Olympic Committee planned the event to coincide with the commemoration of 80th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej who was also the gold medalist of the sailing event at the 1967 games. The games was held from 6 to 15 December 2007 although several events had commenced from 27 November 2007. Around 5282 athletes participated at the event which featured 475 events in 43 sports. It was opened by Prince Vajiralongkorn, the Crown Prince of Thailand at the 80th Birthday Stadium.

The final medal tally was led by host nation Thailand, followed by Malaysia and Vietnam. Several Games and national records were broken during the games. The games were deemed generally successful with the rising standards of competition amongst the Southeast Asian nations.

Host city

Singapore was due to host the 2007 Southeast Asian Games, but it withdrew from hosting to demolish and rebuild its national stadium. A general assembly of the SEA Games Federation Council during the 2003 Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam approved Thailand's hosting of the games.[2]

Development and preparation

On 24 February 2006, northeast Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province authorities met to discuss the 2007 SEA Games schedule, and progress on the province's under-construction US$65 million sports complex. Presided over by governor Somboon Ngamlak, the meeting provided an overview of facilities, and ended with reassurances that facilities would be ready for SEA Games in 2007.

2007 SEA Games is located in Thailand
Nakhon Ratchasima
Nakhon Ratchasima
Bangkok
Bangkok
Chonburi
Chonburi
2007 Southeast Asian Games host cities

Torch relay

A torch relay was held across the nation prior to the hosting of the games. On 8 November 2007, Prince Vajiralongkorn, on behalf of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej presented the royal flame to the games organising committee chairman, Suvit Yodmani. Following the presentation, the flame was installed in Bangkok at the Bangkok City Hall. After that, the flame was relayed from Bangkok to provinces such as Chonburi, Samut Songkhram, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ratchaburi, Suphanburi, Nakhon Sawan, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phetchabun, Loei, Nong Khai, Sakhon Nahkhon, Mukdahan, Ubon Ratchatthani, Surin, Roi Et and Khon Kaen before arrived in the host province, Nakhon Ratchasima on 26 November 2007. In Nakhon Ratchasima, the flame was relayed across its districts such as Phimai, Choke Chai, Pak Thong Chai, Pak Chong and Soongnern before arrived at Nakhon Ratchasima City, the host city of the games on 1 December 2007. The flame was then installed at the monument of Thao Suranari before the games' opening ceremony.[3]

Branding and design

"Can" the Korat cat, the official mascot of the games

The logo of the games is a silhouette of three sailing boats arranged in a row, representing the 40th anniversary that His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej won a gold medal in sailing at the 1967 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games and the 80th anniversary of his birthday. It was designed by Prasit Nunsung from Nonthaburi. The three boats in the logo represents the development, the blending of colours and the technology of Thailand. While the yellow colour on the largest boat represents the King himself, along with red and blue, it is one of the colours on the flag of ASEAN and represents the unity and friendship among the games' participants and the people of Southeast Asia. The 10-circle chain, which is also the logo of the Southeast Asian Games Federation, represents the 10 member nations, excluding Timor-Leste. The shape of the boats resemble the Pimai castle, a symbol of host city Nakhon Ratchasima, as well as the Northeast region of Thailand and its thousand-year-old civilization.

The mascot of the games is a Korat cat named Can.[4] He wears the Northeast region of Thailand's traditional garments and plays the khaen, a mouth organ that the region is famous for. The name of the musical instrument aforementioned coincidentally has a similar pronunciation to his name. He was created by Sa-ard Jomngarm and his name "Can" was given by an eight-year-old girl, Piyathida Sreewimon.[5]

Four songs were composed for the games including "Rhythm of the Winner", the theme song of the games. The other songs are: "We are the Water", "Friendship Card" and "Korat SEA Games".[6]

Venues

Most of the Games were held in the His Majesty the King's 80th Birthday Anniversary, 5 December 2007, Sports Complex on Pakthongchai Road in Nakhon Ratchasima after a US$65 million reconstruction for the event.[7] The sports complex holds the 24,000-seater 80th Birthday Stadium, two indoor stadiums and many other facilities.[8] Aside from Nakhon Ratchasima, events were held in Bangkok[9] and Chonburi.[10] In Suranaree University of Technology, the students' residence was used as the athletes' village while Suraphat 2 Building was used as the main press centre.

39 venues were used for the games: 28 in Nakhon Ratchasima, 6 in Bangkok and 5 in Chonburi.

Province Competition venue Sports
Nakhon Ratchasima His Majesty the King's 80th Birthday Anniversary, 5 December 2007, Sports Complex
80th Birthday StadiumOpening and Closing Ceremonies, Athletics, Football
Aquatic CentreDiving, Swimming, Water Polo
Beach Volleyball StadiumVolleyball
Liptapanlop HallGymnastics
Korat Chatchai HallVolleyball
Tennis CourtTennis
VelodromeCycling
Suranaree University of Technology
Secondary Football FieldArchery
Keelapirom GymnasiumBasketball
National Synchrotron Research CentreFencing
Pétanque CourtPétanque
Surapala Keetha Sathan StadiumFootball
Others
Amphoe Pak Thong Chai Sport ComplexBoxing, Football
Bonanza Golf and Country ClubGolf
Chanapolkhan Institute of TechnologyKarate, Wushu
Khao Yai ThiangCycling
Klang Plaza Jomsurang Department StoreTable tennis
Mittraphap RoadCycling
Nakhon Ratchasima Municipal StadiumFootball, Muay
Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat UniversityBodybuilding, Softball
Nakhon Ratchasima Vocational CollegeWeightlifting
Rajamangala University of Technology, IsanJudo, Wrestling
Sima Thani HotelBilliards and snooker
Sung Noen Municipality HallPencak silat
Suranaree CampRugby union
The Mall Department StoreSepak takraw
Vongchavalitkul UniversityBadminton, Dancesport, Taekwondo
Bangkok Hua Mark Indoor StadiumFutsal
Nimibutr StadiumHandball
Queen Sirikit Sport CentreBaseball, Hockey, Lawn bowls
Ratchaphruek ClubSquash
SF Strike BowlBowling
Sport Authority of Thailand Sport ComplexShooting
VR Sport ClubPolo
Chonburi Ambassador City JomtienTriathlon
Horseshoe PointEquestrian
Map Prachan ReservoirCanoeing, Rowing, Traditional boat race
Ocean Marina Yacht ClubSailing
Thai Polo ClubEquestrian

The games

Opening ceremony.

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony which divided into eight segments was held on 6 December 2007 at 19:00 (TST) at the 80th birthday stadium. Thai audiences clad in mostly pink and yellow as symbol of loyalty to the king, packed the stadium hours before the ceremony starts. After the Thai royal family entered the stadium, the royal anthem is first played. The ceremony began with the first segment entitled "The Amazing Great King", a 10-minute tribute to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, then the longest reigning monarch in the world at that time. This was followed by second and third segment named "The Amazing E-Saan Wonder" and "The Amazing Glorious City" respectively, highlighting the history and culture of the Isan (northeast) region and its main city, Korat which were accompanied by a dazzling laser display and incorporated replicas of colourful ancient temples and gigantic dragon boats.

After that, the fourth segment "The Amazing Sport Ceremony" was held began with the parade of the contingents from the 11 participating nations. The Thai contingent, the largest contingent among the participating nations received the warmest welcome from the audiences when they enter the stadium. After the athletes and officials had assembled on the field, Thai Sports Minister Suvit Yodmani, the Games organising chairman, delivered his speech and the Games was then officially opened by the Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. It was followed by the Thai National Anthem when the national flag of Thailand was raised and the raising of the Games flag and the oath-taking ceremony in which Suebsak Pansueb took the oath on behalf of the athletes and Paibul Srichaisawat on behalf of the judges. Later during "The Amazing Royal Flame", the fifth segment of the ceremony, a group of athletes passes the flame during the torch relay one after another before the Thai female weightlifter cum gold medalist at the Athens Olympics, Udomporn Polsak lit the Games cauldron.

The ceremony concludes with "The Amazing Spirit", "The Amazing Friendship" and "The Amazing Celebrations" segments which were performed by more than 8,000 students from 35 learning institutions. The segments were held in accordance with the Games' tagline of 'Spirit, Friendship and Celebrations'.[11][12]

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony which was divided into seven segments was held on 15 December 2007 at 19:00 (TST) at the 80th birthday stadium and was preceded by a pre-ceremony song and dance performance entitled "A Message from the Heart", the arrival of the Thai Prime Minister and other dignitaries. The ceremony began with a four-minute "The Creation of Spirit" segment, a musical sketch showcasing Thailand's rich traditional culture. This was followed by "The Creation of Friendship" and "The Creation of Celebrations" segment, the two musical performances by school students who formed ‘human formations’ in the middle of the field. Later, "The Creation of Sport Ceremony" segment was held with the contingents from the 11 participating nations marched into the stadium to the folk music of respective nations as the fireworks lit up the skies.

After the athletes and officials assembled at the stadium, Thai Prime Minister Gen Surayud Chulanont gave his speech and declared the games closed. Prime Minister Surayud then entitled Swimmers Miguel Molina of the Philippines and Natthanan Junkajang of Thailand as the Most Valuable Athletes of the Games. With Thai national flag and the Games flag lowered, the SEA Games responsibility was handed over to Laos, host of the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in which the Deputy Prime Minister of Laos, Somsavat Lengsavad received the games flag as its symbol. A Laos segment performance was performed by Lao dancers with their traditional performances.

During "The Creation of Hope" segment, The flame of the cauldron was extinguished by a man dress as a Korat boy on two wheeled cart, symbolised the end of the games. The ceremony concluded with two Thai farewell segment performances namely "The Creation of Live World" and "The Creation of Happiness and Prosperity".[13]

Participating nations

Around 5282 athletes were participating at the games.

Sports

Indonesia plays against Thailand in SEA Games Polo 2007

The 2007 SEA Games featured 43 sports which consists of 475 events and also 2 demonstration sports (i.e. Go and Kempo).[14][15][16][17][18]

¹ – not an official Olympic Sport
² – sport played only in the SEAG
³ – not a traditional Olympic nor SEAG Sport and introduced only by the host country.
° – a former official Olympic Sport, not applied in previous host countries and was introduced only by the host country.

Calendar

OCOpening ceremony Event competitions 1Gold medal events CCClosing ceremony
November / December 27
Tue
28
Wed
29
Thu
30
Fri
1
Sat
2
Sun
3
Mon
4
Tue
5
Wed
6
Thu
7
Fri
8
Sat
9
Sun
10
Mon
11
Tue
12
Wed
13
Thu
14
Fri
15
Sat
Events
CeremoniesOCCC
Archery 4 4 8
Athletics 9 11 4 9 12 45
Badminton 2 5 7
Baseball 1 1
Basketball 2 2
Billiards and snooker 1 1 3 3 2 1 2 13
Bodybuilding 5 5
Bowling 2 2 2 2 2 1 11
Boxing 7 10 17
Canoeing 5 7 12
Cycling 2 2 2 3 5 3 2 19
Dancesport 5 5 10
Diving 1 2 5 2 10
Equestrian 1 1 1 1 2 6
Fencing 3 3 3 3 12
Football 3 1 4
Golf 4 4
Gymnastics 4 1 1 2 10 1 1 4 24
Handball 1 1 2
Hockey 2 2
Judo 4 4 4 4 16
Karate 4 7 7 18
Lawn bowls 6 6
Muay 11 11
Pencak silat 1 13 14
Petanque 2 2 3 2 9
Polo 1 1
Rowing 6 5 11
Rugby 2 2
Sailing 17 17
Sepak takraw 2 2 2 2 8
Shooting 7 6 6 6 6 1 2 34
Swimming 7 6 7 6 6 32
Softball 2 2
Squash 1 1
Table tennis 2 1 2 2 7
Taekwondo 6 6 4 16
Tennis 2 2 3 7
Traditional boat race 2 2 4
Triathlon 2 2 4
Volleyball 2 2 4
Water polo 1 1
Weightlifting 2 3 3 2 3 13
Wrestling 3 3 3 9
Wushu 1 13 14
Daily medal events7666612065294348585065606116475
Cumulative total713192531323434404574117165223273338398459475
November / December 27
Tue
28
Wed
29
Thu
30
Fri
1
Sat
2
Sun
3
Mon
4
Tue
5
Wed
6
Thu
7
Fri
8
Sat
9
Sun
10
Mon
11
Tue
12
Wed
13
Thu
14
Fri
15
Sat
Total
events

Medal table

A total of 1542 medals, comprising 477 gold medals, 470 silver medals, and 595 bronze medals were awarded to athletes. The Host Thailand performance was its best ever yet in Southeast Asian Games history and emerged as overall champion of the games.[19][20][21]

Key

  *   Host nation (Thailand)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Thailand*183123103409
2 Malaysia685296216
3 Vietnam645882204
4 Indonesia566483203
5 Singapore434341127
6 Philippines419196228
7 Myanmar14264787
8 Laos573244
9 Cambodia251118
10 Brunei1146
11 East Timor0000
Totals (11 entries)4774705951542

Concerns and controversies

  • Two Thai athletes, Surathep Wisawathiron and Panaporn Kosol were ousted from the games after they were tested positive for doping.[22][23][24]

See also

References

  1. Home Page – Sea Games 2007 Information Center Nakhon Ratchasima THAILAND Archived 13 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Thailand to host SEA Games in 2007".
  3. "The people of Chonburi Lively Welcomed the Light of SEA Games".
  4. "Sea Games Mascot available for sale on Aug 11". Archived from the original on 6 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. "Sea Games mascot, emblem unveiled". Archived from the original on 30 September 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. Songs SEA Games 2007 Songs
  7. Organizing committee reports sports stadium ready for the Games Archived 13 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Venues construction updates Archived 9 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Bangkok competitions map Archived 17 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Chonburi competitions map Archived 24 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "SEA Games open with glittering show of light, music and dance". The Star. 7 December 2007. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  12. "24th Sea Games Opens With Jubilant Ceremony". Pattaya Daily News. 7 December 2007.
  13. "Almost two weeks of action comes to a close in colourful ceremony". The Star. 16 December 2007.
  14. SEA Games list of sports by the Korat Post Archived 4 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  15. Complete Schedule
  16. Events and medals
  17. "Complete Schedule 2". Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  18. "Events and medals 2". Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  19. "24th SEA games Website of OCA". 31 December 2007. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  20. "2009 SEA Games to reduce number of Olympic sports". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  21. 24th SEA Games 2007 Official Results
  22. "Thai field hockey prayer tests positive in Southeast Asian Games doping test". Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  23. "SEA Games ends with hosts Thailand topping medal table". Archived from the original on 18 December 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. "Thai pair kicked out of SEA Games after failed drugs tests". Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
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